The period before young adult couples choose to commit is prolonged compared to a few decades ago. By applying Grounded Theory, this qualitative study explores how young adults experience contemporary romantic relationships. We interviewed 10 Norwegian students from ages 20 to 29 years. The most central finding was the informants’ experiences of becoming something more in the relationship with the partner. This self-expansion seemed to build upon two main processes: (1) Building joint identity refers to the experience that mutually exposing one’s own vulnerability enhances joint identity. Becoming adults together also promotes joint identity and illuminates how couples provide care for each other, and expands the self through facilitating joint identity. The use of internal humour is also emphasized and may be more important for the establishment of romantic relations than previously recognized. (2) Doubting the shared identity emphasize how a new transitional phase can raise questions about one’s own choices in a period where “I” is prioritized before “we”, and where the couples avoid to discuss commitment. Altogether, the findings highlight new aspects and connections between established theories, which may provide a better understanding of the present dilemmas young couple experience. Increased insight about commitment processes among young adults may have clinical relevance and implications for further theory development.
Persons with ongoing substance use problems are highly represented in groups with low income, high unemployment rates, and high levels of criminal behaviour. Those who leave prison often face economic and social problems, difficult living conditions, and unemployment. One important problem is debt, which may prevent ex-prisoners from gaining an economic foothold, even when employed. The aim of this study was to examine how financial security may support ex-prisoners by creating conditions wherein they can successfully re-enter society. Data were collected through multistage focus-group interviews with seven participants and were analysed by thematic, qualitative analyses. The results revealed that participants dreamt of an ordinary life with sufficient money. They experienced a paralysing burden of debt and emphasised the importance of receiving debt support and being employed. Such support made it possible to move towards economic freedom. The findings highlight the link between a lack of money and difficult life circumstances when trying to establish a life after release from prison as well as the connection between substance use and poverty. Participants experienced increased autonomy and freedom after receiving debt assistance and they stressed the importance of regular income. This study illustrates that social support may counteract exclusion and segregation, and it elucidates the importance of both community participation and viewing oneself as part of society.
Over the last decade, a series of terrorist attacks has taken place in European cities. These attacks have varied in type and scope. This paper presents the lessons learned from the psychosocial response by professionals and representatives of those directly affected in eight terror-stricken cities. These professionals and representatives were gathered for a workshop to present and discuss their experiences. The unpredictability of the events and the sheer number of affected individuals made registration, coordination of services, and information provision difficult in the immediate phase. The transnational nature of the events (i.e., involving the citizens of several countries, with formal and informal helpers converging on the scene), added to the coordination problems. While crisis contingency plans were available for the immediate response, the intermediate and long-term responses were often less well planned for. Among the lessons learned was the importance of a clearly defined leadership and chain of command, with systems in place for early registration of those affected. Crisis contingency plans should be regularly exercised, including the psychosocial response. With the usually large number of people involved in such attacks, a huge need exists for information, especially for families in desperate need of information regarding their family members. Easily accessible, regular, updated, and verified information must be available for affected groups. Terror events demand good coordination and smooth exchange of information between different involved agencies. Systems must be in place to ensure coordination and collaboration as well as regulation and use of human and material resources. Several “hidden groups” such as bystanders, spontaneous helpers, and people who were inadvertently in contact with terrorists must be attended to. Peer support organisations represent a resource that can provide those in charge of psychosocial follow-up with an updated and realistic picture of people’s needs. It is also recommended that long-term follow-up is planned for in an early phase of psychological support, since a recurring problem has been a gap between the early response and the long-term follow-up.
Dementia is a public healthcare priority in Norway. The aim of this study was to explore and describe users’ and professionals’ experiences of a Norwegian ambulatory psychiatric team treating older people with dementia and challenging behaviour. Patients with symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and agitation need special health care, which they rarely receive. Caring for these patients can be a burden for both relatives and nursing home staff. Little is known about the organisation of healthcare services for older persons with dementia and behavioural and psychiatric symptoms living at home or in a nursing home. The need for psychogeriatric teams that offer ambulatory services is in great demand. Such services might be particularly needed in rural districts, because the team we studied is unique in our region. This qualitative study involved interviews with relatives, ambulatory team members, and staff from four nursing homes. The analyses were inspired by systematic text condensation. Ambulatory team members developed a close relationship with patients, their relatives, and nursing home staff. This bonding made it possible to develop a tailor-made service for each patient. Staff in nursing homes wanted to be observed and to receive feedback about their daily care of patients. Relatives believed that their contributions were important and that health services needed to understand their limited resources. All informants agreed that better cooperation among healthcare levels was crucial for improving these services. More research and national guidelines are needed to determine how municipalities can best provide services for older people with dementia and psychiatric symptoms.
There is a lack of empirical studies investigating patients’ understanding of why they developed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In this article, we explore patients’ conceptualization of why they developed OCD and their understanding of the significance of having a theory about why they developed OCD. We utilized a hermeneutical-phenomenological approach to analyze and interpret the data. Focus group interviews were conducted with 15 individuals who had undergone group behavioral treatment for OCD for an average of 8.5 years ago. Four core categories were drawn from our analysis: (1) OCD as a coping strategy; (2) OCD as a result of family heritage; (3) comfort in understanding where one’s OCD comes from; and (4) ambivalence about focusing on causes in treatment of OCD. In conclusion, participants noted a range of potential psychosocial contributors to the development of their OCD symptoms. Of particular note were beliefs that OCD initially developed as a coping strategy for handling difficult life situations. Potential clinical and research-related implications of these findings are discussed.
Most research on couple relationships have focused on conflicts and negative aspects. The target audience for this research was married couples who describe their relationship as good. The research question was: “How do married couples who consider their relationship as good describe it as such?” Data were collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews with three heterosexual couples in Norway. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, three themes were identified: (1) the importance of talking together; (2) creating something together; and (3) having realistic expectations of each other. The couples had clear ideas regarding what characterises a good couple relationship. The language they used appeared to play a central role in co-creating the story of good couple relationships wherein in feeling safe and having shared values are emphasised. Realistic expectations were emphasised as well; they allowed space for differences and challenges in the relationship and in life in general. Efforts to ensure that the couple relationship was healthy were described as occurring natural for the couples. Together, these characteristics comprised what the couples described as a good couple relationship.»/>
There is a paucity of knowledge on psychotherapy aiming to help clients stop engaging in intimate partner violence (IPV). The purpose of this study is to enrich our understanding of the processes of violence-focused therapy by developing rich and clinically relevant descriptions that can inform and inspire other therapists. Using constructivist grounded theory, we shed light on how clients and therapist co-create change. The main finding of this study is that clients use language that can be understood as opening up toward or moving away from recognizing and experiencing responsibility. This can even occur within the same utterance. We describe how therapists meet these ways of speaking and how this interaction unfolds in sequences of dialogue. Use of language is an important gateway to change because it can both reflect and create clients’ experience of agency in their life. The findings can be useful for clinicians working with this and other client groups. It can also aid in further research on violence-focused therapy. Clinical implications are discussed.
The aim of this study was to examine laissez-faire leadership as a predictor of role ambiguity in the workplace. It also endeavoured to uncover whether occupational self-efficacy and competence uncertainty moderated this relationship. In a sample of 386 Norwegian employees who were also students at Folkeuniversitetet, laissez-faire leadership showed a significant association with role ambiguity. Hierarchical multiple regression was used in the analysis of the possible moderating effects occupational self-efficacy and competence uncertainty had on this relationship. We found a significant interaction effect of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and role ambiguity. Specifically, the positive relationship between laissez-faire leadership and role ambiguity proved stronger at low levels of occupational self-efficacy. Contrary to our predictions, the analysis showed no significant interaction effect of competence uncertainty on the same relationship. Demonstrating that the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and role ambiguity can be moderated by individual characteristics asserts the need for further research on how organisations can establish measures to strengthen employees’ personal resources, in addition to preventing the occurrence of laissez-faire leadership.
This paper is a conversational autoethnography based on personal and written communication among six academics affiliated with the University of South-Eastern Norway. It explores how sharing personal stories of friendship through writing and talking can serve as a means for developing a broadened understanding of what friendship can be, at both a personal and a cultural level. Simultaneously, the paper explores how the very act of sharing such stories affects the relationship among group participants and challenges common assumptions about professional relations in academia. Through its unconventional structure and topic, the paper calls into question what counts as knowledge and opens the door to new ways of developing knowledge. It also invites readers to engage in further reflections and unfinalized stories of friendship, dialogue, and knowledge.
The interplay between work and identity has frequently been explored in work and organisational research. Therein, identity has become a multi-layered concept that is used to investigate a wide variety of phenomena in work and organisational studies. Previous studies have illustrated how work and working life is a particularly appropriate context for studying identity and identity construction. This article contributes to the field by analysing a detailed case study of a system developer, using data based on qualitative work diary in conjunction with in-depth interview. This paper explores reflexive positioning in identity work by examining the strategies undertaken when available social identities are perceived as being neither attractive nor relevant. It also explores the actions taken to expand the repertoire of available social identities in the context studied. The analysis of this case suggests that it is possible to expand the social identities that are available in discourse, but that this expansion is difficult to maintain. The worker is walking a fine line to keep alternative social identities available to him. This article contributes to the research field not only by exploring the constitutive processes in identity work but also by examining the reciprocal processes between one particular individual and the context in which he is engaged.
This paper presents a method called Topic Change Process Analysis (TCPA). The authors developed this method as a means of analysing therapy transcripts which focus on topic changes related to the verbal client/therapist interaction. Analysis of four eclectic short-term therapies encompass the findings. Therapeutic interventions from different theoretical positions have been identified that include descriptions of interactions influencing topic changes. Finally, TCPA is discussed as a case study method used in therapeutic process research. Such discussion underlines that case study methods should be simple to use. Furthermore, collecting information from several cases to pick up the many variations in client behaviour, therapeutic style, interaction patterns, and adaptation of interventions to the individual client bears importance.
The Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) is the most widely used instrument to assess the severity of prolonged grief reactions after the loss of a loved one. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian ICG by examining its reliability, factor structure, and relationships with the anxiety and depression subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Integration of Stressful Life Events Scale – Short Form, and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. The results showed that the Norwegian ICG has high reliability (ωt = .95). Exploratory factor analysis yielded three factors (disbelief/bitterness, detachment, yearning/hallucinations) that align with factors found in previous investigations. With regard to external validity, moderate to high correlations with symptoms of anxiety and depression, difficulties with integration of the loss, and functional impairment were found. The results support the use of the ICG in bereaved populations in Norway.»/>
This prospective correlational study examines the association between alcohol use and prolonged grief among bereaved parents (n = 86) and siblings (n = 43) in the 18 to 40 months following the 2011 terrorist attack on Utøya. Bereaved family members who reported using alcohol to cope with their loss had persistently high grief scores from 18 to 40 months after the attack. Among those who reported not using alcohol to cope with their loss, there was a significant decline in grief scores. Our results suggest that using alcohol as a coping strategy, and not alcohol use per se, is associated with prolonged grief after sudden and violent losses.»/>
Objective: The study investigated whether youths who later developed schizophrenia would report poorer mental and psychosocial health compared with matched healthy controls. Method: The study had a prospective case control design. Data were extracted from the Norwegian health survey, the Young-HUNT1 survey (collected between 1995–1997). Results: The case group reported poorer subjective well-being, more negative emotions, and more difficulties related to social function compared to healthy controls. Several of them smoked nicotine daily and they were less physically active. Conclusions: The results support other studies showing that premorbid schizophrenia is associated with negative emotions and social disturbances. The results also reveal that negative subjective well-being and problems with smoking and inactivity were present before onset of the disease.
A joint crisis plan is highlighted in several of the Norwegian national guidelines as a recommended measure for treatment of adults with mental health difficulties. The purpose of our qualitative study is to describe patient experiences with joint crisis plans and to highlight how patients have used such plans after being discharged from a psychiatric ward. Data was collected through six semi-structured interviews and the analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis. The conclusion is drawn that the joint crisis plan is beneficial for those patients who can implement the use of it. This research can contribute valuable insight about how to work with joint crisis plans and can ensure that patients’ ability to help themselves during crisis increases.
This literature review aimed to synthesize the existing research on group dynamic interventions that are designed to enhance individual leadership development in organisations. Such interventions are typically intended to help leaders learn about both themselves and interpersonal relationships. A systematic mixed studies literature review with an integrated design was undertaken. The selection process resulted in nine articles that met the inclusion criteria. The scarcity of studies means that no reliable conclusion could be drawn on the sizes of effects and, thus, whether group dynamic interventions are effective or not. Given this situation, four tendencies could still be identified. First, interventions involving practical skills (e.g., problem-solving techniques) appear to be effective. Second, interventions focusing on inner processes (e.g., self-awareness, self-acceptance, and sensitivity to group processes) appear to have some favourable effects. Third, little evidence was found regarding the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving leaders’ interpersonal skills. Fourth, identified enablers and neutralizers include group characteristics, facilitator qualities, intervention goals and focus, a safe climate, and opportunities for practice. The lack of evidence regarding effectiveness does not mean that group dynamic interventions are ineffective. It means only that more research is necessary to evaluate this type of developmental intervention.
The HEXACO model of personality structure consists of six factors that have been repeatedly recovered in lexical studies across languages (Ashton, Lee, & Perugini et al., 2004; Lee & Ashton, 2008). The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the HEXACO-PI-R in a Norwegian sample. College students ( n = 484; 82% female; mean age: 24.98 years) answered the Norwegian HEXACO-PI-R and the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Alpha reliability for HEXACO-PI-R factor scales was acceptable, whereas reliability coefficients for the facet scales varied with a mean α = .63. A principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation showed that seven meaningful latent factors could be extracted, but when six latent factors were requested, a factor loading pattern in accordance with the HEXACO model emerged. Relationships between the HEXACO factors and BFI supported the convergent validity of the inventory. The relativity independence of Honesty-Humility from the Big Fig factors was evident, with the Big Five predicting only 20% of the variance in Honesty-Humility. The results indicate that the Norwegian HEXACO-PI-R is adequate for measuring the six factors of personality but more research, preferably in heterogeneous samples, is needed to fully establish the psychometric properties of the inventory.»/>
Since HIV's arrival, it has been stigmatised which has resulted in severe consequences for those living with HIV. Surveys on individuals living with HIV suggest that this group's physical health and lives has improved through medical advancements but that stigmatisation remains an issue. There is little Norwegian research on the experience of HIV-related stigma among gay men, a group proportionally at greater risk of infection. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how HIV-related stigma is experienced and perceived by gay men living with HIV and how they deal with it. The study was conducted by interviewing 10 gay men living with HIV in Norway. The interviews were analysed through thematic analysis. Based on the narratives, the findings were organised into four themes and discussed as followed: 'Encountered stigmatisation', 'Living with a secret stigma and the matter of disclosure', 'Self-Perception and self-stigma', and 'A sense of responsibility'. Contexts, connections, and implications of the findings are presented and discussed. HIV-related stigma is still experienced as an issue among some, but not all, gay men living with HIV. Self-stigma is reported as being the most prevalent issue. Suggested applications of the findings are presented.
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between internalized homonegativity (IH) and individual, psychological, and social factors in a self-selected sample in Norway of men who have sex with men (MSM). To investigate this relationship, a cross-sectional, online survey study was carried out in 2012 among a self-selected sample of 529 MSM. The following three dimensions of IH were investigated: “Personal comfort with a gay identity”, “Social comfort with gay men,” and “Public identification as gay.” When controlling for the effect of psychological and social factors, there was no relationship between individual factors and dimensions of IH. Openness about one’s sexual orientation was the best predictor for all IH dimensions. In addition, MSM who had a less negative affect, felt fewer social consequences, and experienced less shame related to sexual compulsiveness had less IH related to “Personal identity as a gay man” than others. Respondents who were open about their sexual orientation and had a positive affect status had less IH related to “Social comfort with gay men” than others. Finally, MSM who were open about their sexual orientation and had higher sexual self-esteem had less IH related to “Public identification as gay.”
This paper explores and describes the experiences of patients, family members, and professionals with the Open Dialogue approach to network meetings at a locked psychiatric hospital unit in Norway. Previous research on Open Dialogue has mostly focused on acute crises in community care contexts. In this article, we discuss the participants’ experiences with Open Dialogue in a new context; that is in an inpatient locked unit. The inpatients are suffering from severe mental illness and might have been admitted to the unit against their will. The study has a qualitative design. Data were collected through a focus group interview with professionals and from written evaluations by patients and their families. Data were analyzed using systematic text condensation. The findings suggest that the Open Dialogue approach is largely a positive experience for patients, family members, and professionals in a locked psychiatric unit.
